The Orion Effect

by Christine Myles

Part Three

 

Nikki didn't realize immediately that she and David had lost sight of one other; she was momentarily distracted by a strange S and M scene that was in progress a just few feet away. A trio of tall, dark-haired women dressed in dominatrix gear, leather, high heeled boots, slicked back hair and carrying whips, were tying a blindfolded man to a makeshift flogging frame. They then began to whip his back with eerie, slow motion movements, as if everything was stylized, like a Kabuki play. The man had a huge erection. Discomfited, Nikki had looked away hastily, only to realize that David was nowhere to be seen. She wandered around, calling his name, but he didn't appear. She began to feel frightened.

Now, as an apparently lone woman in a vast horde of sexual revelers, Nikki quickly became fair game. Men in various states of undress came up to her and put their arms around her. Some walked up to her and felt her breasts, uttering not so much as a single word. Men and women came up to her and cupped her pubic area with their hands, grinning wickedly. She thought, thank God I did a thorough job of "tucking"...

One man in his early thirties came up to her and flung his arms around her and hugged her so tightly around her waist that the air was forced out of her lungs. Simultaneously, she felt a sharp pain in the center of her lower back, like an insect bite. It disappeared in a second.

"Come with me sweetheart!" he leered, breathing a miasma of liquor into her face, "We have the best orgy in the park going on, right over here!"

"No!" she pushed him away and began to run, nearly stumbling and falling amidst the sea of bodies.

"Hey! Come back here!" he yelled after her, but he gave a half-hearted chase and quit after a few moments. "Bitch!" he screamed, "You'll be back, mark my words!"

Nikki kept running. She ran through the forest of giant TV screens (or was it a different one?) knocking one of them off its stand. She heard it crash to the ground behind her.

She sidestepped a pair of bodybuilder types locked in a passionate embrace, then suddenly found herself on the periphery of the largest group of orgiastic bedlam she had yet seen. She stumbled over someone at the fringe of the group and gasped out an apology. She tried to retreat, but eager hands pulled her forward. She stumbled again and fell to the ground amidst a sea of limbs and bodies. An attractive woman, upon whom she'd just landed, sat up and smiled at Nikki, caressing her own naked breasts. Nikki gazed up at her and as she did so the other woman's eyes suddenly blazed brilliant red. Astonished, Nikki blinked. The other woman's eyes looked normal. She looked frantically around her, but nobody else appeared to have noticed. She looked again at the woman. Her eyes still looked perfectly ordinary. But then she smiled and suddenly her teeth seemed too large, a mouth full of white ice cubes, surrounded by writhing, undulating lips. Nikki backed away, shaken and frightened. She looked frantically around her. Everything else seemed normal. Or did it? She felt fear rising in her throat; her heart pounded wildly in her chest.

She attempted to stand up, but then a man, who appeared to be miles away, suddenly embraced her, his arms snaking out across the intervening distance, wrapping around her like tentacles. She screamed and brushed them away frantically, drawing blood with her nails.

My God, she thought, terrified, what's happening to me? The giant lips rose up again to meet her own. She seemed paralyzed, as if her limbs would not answer the call of her brain. Falling forward again, she felt herself consumed by some great, swirling abyss. Hands slid her tank top up over her head. Her fanny pack and gun were suddenly gone. More hands undid her shorts and pulled them off, then her shoes. Other hands were kneading the cups of her bra. Her panties slid down. No! She screamed silently and groped frantically, managing to grab them just as they slid past her feet. She felt hands on her body, between her legs. She felt lips on her sexual organ, sliding wetly up and down. Disembodied lips? Moving on their own? Was that possible? Oh God, please! Please! What's happening to meeeeee?!?

She gazed about her, panic stricken. Her body was all wrong, twisted and flowing like lava, bent and distorted in impossible directions, taffy in a taffy-pulling machine. Hands were everywhere; were they hers? No that was impossible. Hers were here, before her face, pulsing and writhing, growing bigger until they were like Mickey Mouse hands, then shrinking to tiny, crustacean-like claws. She stared at them, horrified. The hands must belong to someone else. Someone with lots and lots of hands, she reasoned. But no, that's ridiculous.

She became aware of sensations between her legs. They felt rather good, actually... No! She screamed, or did she just hear her own voice echoing inside her head? No! Get away from me! It's not supposed to be you! It's supposed to... Frantically, she pushed the lips away from her and heard a sharp curse. With her panties clutched tightly in one hand, she tried to stand up, but the treacherous ground suddenly lurched in a dizzying spiral and she fell again. Noooooo! She screamed, as the hands closed in. A smoky darkness began to creep into her field of vision from all sides; everything was becoming smaller and smaller. She lost consciousness.

 

David ran until he couldn't run any more. Then, his breath coming in sharp rasps, he walked, bent forward, clutching his side and trying to swallow the thick, burning substance that filled his mouth. God what I wouldn't give for some water, he thought. As if in answer, he heard the splashing of a fountain close by and looked up to see a large concrete bowl filled with water in the center of a nearby lawn. On its rim stood the statue of a little boy, pissing a steady stream of water into the pool. I don't care who pissed it out, thought David wryly, but I need a drink, now! He cupped his hands and drank until he felt sated. Then, somewhat revitalized, he began running again. He focused on his pace. "One step, two steps, three steps, four," he chanted to himself, "drink up the water and piss on the floor!" He was trying keep his mind occupied. He didn't want his thoughts to stray to the terrifying possibility that Nikki might not be at the truck when he arrived, that perhaps she would never get there.

Then, too soon and not soon enough, he saw the grove of bougainvillea where they'd left it. He felt in his pocket to ensure he still had the keys, then ran into the copse and saw the truck. It was undisturbed. It was also deserted.

"Nikki!" he called. He only heard a faint echo of his own voice. It was eerily quiet, the air close and still. Nothing moved, not even a breeze. The sun had dipped down low behind the surrounding houses and most of the tiny park was deep in shadow. He wandered through the bushes and gardens for a while, working on the theory that perhaps she'd arrived earlier and, since David had had the only set of keys (bad planning, thought David gravely, bad mistake), she had decided to curl up for a nap in the shade and concealment of one of the shrubs.

He didn't really believe it, but he looked anyway. He roamed around, calling her name in a low voice. As he returned to the truck, he passed by the copse of trees they'd driven through that morning.

"Nikki?" he called softly, "Nikki?"

Then, barely audible, "David?"

A skin-tingling surge of adrenalin blasted through him.

"Nikki!"

It was her voice, but it sounded strange, weak.

"Nikki!"

"David... over here..."

He ran toward the sound and saw bare feet sticking out from beneath a row of low bushes. He reached in and felt her hands, then grabbed them and pulled hard. With his help, Nikki emerged from the foliage, but...

"My God!" David whispered.

She looked bad. Her unfocussed eyes were red and puffy, her pupils dilated into wide black pools. Her hair was tangled, her lipstick and mascara smeared and she was naked except for her bra, holding her panties in one tightly clenched fist. The rest of her clothes were nowhere to be seen. There were scratches on her legs and torso and on the soles of her feet; she seemed dazed.

"David..." she whimpered and fell against him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He held her tight, his heart pounding wildly, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Oh my God, Nikki, what happened?! I was so scared..."

"Oh David," she sobbed, "Oh God... I thought I'd never see you again..."

David felt deep stabs of guilt course through him; his eyes stinging, he swallowed past a huge lump in his throat.

"Oh Nikki, Nikki, I'm so sorry! I promised to protect you and to look after you and I failed. I lost you and I was afraid something terrible had happened... If we'd done what you wanted and gone home, this never would've happened..."

"Something terrible did happen," she whispered into his shoulder, "and I can't even remember it... But David, please! Please don't blame yourself! You did everything you could. You've been wonderful... you are wonderful... It was my fault, my fault... I didn't pay attention. I didn't. I knew I should... I knew we were supposed to stay in contact, but I let myself get distracted..." her voice got softer and softer during this speech and she trailed off into silence.

"Come on, Nikki," said David, putting a supporting arm around her waist, "Let's go. It's time to leave. The truck is just over here."

They started to walk, but Nikki's legs gave out and David had to catch her before she fell to the ground. Together, they moved toward the truck, with David taking most of her weight and Nikki staggering along as best they could.

"Is it time to leave?" she asked slowly in a singsong voice, her head lolling, "Is it really? Oh David I'm so glad. I don't want to stay here. This is a bad place. I want to go away... Is that our truck?"

She seemed to be drifting and David once again felt afraid. Medical attention might not be easy to find right now, he thought grimly.

He put her in the passenger seat and reclined the back somewhat, then he got a sleeping bag and wrapped it tightly around her. She smiled lazily at him as he did so.

"Oh goodie, you're so sweet to me... I mean," she giggled weakly, "Oh sweetie you're so good to me!" She laughed again, then her eyes unfocussed and she gazed unseeingly through the windshield.

David was fighting down panic. What the hell's wrong with her, he wondered, and what should I do? He rummaged in the back for a while and found some soup, thinking that she might benefit from some warm food.

He pulled out a tiny backpacking stove he'd taken from the hardware store, lit it and put the can directly on the flame, after poking a small hole in it with a penknife to let the steam out. Then he sat in the driver's seat and waited. Nikki had closed her eyes and slumped back in her seat. David hoped she was just asleep. Presently, he checked the soup and decided that lukewarm was acceptable under the circumstances. He located a can opener in the back of the truck, then climbed back in and started the engine.

"Nikki?"

She didn't stir. Slightly alarmed, he spoke louder.

"Nikki?" he prodded her gently. She moved and groaned, pulling the sleeping back up tighter. Well, at least she's not unconscious, thought David, she's probably just exhausted. Maybe the best thing for her right now would be to let her sleep. He tucked the sleeping bag in around her body, ate a few spoonfuls of the soup, then put the truck in gear and backed out.

 

He decided to head away from downtown, perhaps up into the hills to the east. He drove, while the sun slipped smoothly down behind the rim of the ocean behind them. Presently he came to the residential areas overlooking the city and turned off the main road. He drove through shaded streets lined with mansions, some with lawns big enough to land small planes on. This area seemed to have no electrical power, but some of the huge homes had lights on, perhaps powered by emergency generators. The houses were all set well back from the road and all had gated driveways. Almost all of the gates were closed. Security cameras were everywhere. He drove higher, while Nikki slept beside him and eventually came to a smaller property that sat, alone, beyond a bend in a lonely road that skimmed the crest of the hill. Here the front gate had been broken off its hinges, as if by some heavy blow.

On impulse, David pulled into the driveway and drove through a cluster of palms toward the main entrance to the house. He stopped so that the headlights shone on it; the doors appeared to have been forced as well. The main house, garage and outbuildings were beautiful, with hacienda style arches, stucco finish and tiled roof; the yard was huge and immaculately landscaped. Having decided to do a little investigating, he parked the truck by the doors, but left the engine running. He patted his fanny pack, feeling the reassuring bulk of the Glock within, then took a flashlight and slipped cautiously through the entrance, shining the beam around the darkened interior. He swept the entrance quickly, then moved stealthily into the rest of the house. It was certainly a nice one. Expensive furniture, electronic equipment, paintings and sculptures were everywhere. Oddly, there was no discernable damage and no obvious signs anywhere of anything having been stolen. Everything seemed to be in its proper place. Experimentally, he flipped a light switch, then another. Nothing happened.

He moved into the vast living room, a voluminous space with a towering cathedral ceiling and large, comfortable looking furniture. A broad, glassed in passageway at one end led to a huge sunroom filled with plants. Some of them had withered, their soil bone dry. Apparently nobody had watered them in several days.

He searched the downstairs, then began to climb the wide, spiral staircase that led to the upper levels. As he did so, he felt a twinge of apprehension. He hoped fervently that the mansion's occupants were not at home. If they were, it was not likely they were in very good shape and that was not a discovery he cared to make.

But, after a thorough search, he concluded that the place really was deserted. He went back outside, turned off the engine and roused Nikki.

"Come on," he said softly, "Time to move."

She groaned and slipped out of the cab, holding her sleeping bag tightly around her. Her teeth chattered and she moved slowly. Putting his arm around her, David helped her into the house, up the stairs and into the huge master bedroom. He folded back the sheets of the colossal bed and helped her to lie down, then tucked her in. She smiled up at him, her eyes half closed, then drifted off to sleep almost immediately.

David wandered around and eventually located the en suite bathroom. He turned on the hot water and waited. Eventually, it began to run lukewarm, so he stripped, stepped under the stream and washed this terrible day from his skin.

 

 

He woke up with sunlight streaming through the skylights above his head. He glanced around at his surroundings, trying to remember where he was. The bedroom was even more impressive in the daylight. Floor to ceiling windows overlooked a spectacular view of the city and the ocean beyond. A paddlewheel-like fan hung from the ceiling above him and a gigantic TV loomed over the room opposite the bed.

He was lying in his underwear in bed next to Nikki. She was still deep in sleep, her breathing slow and regular. He rose and walked into the en suite bathroom again. He turned on the cold water in the shower and stood beneath the icy flood, enduring it until he was completely awake, then he dried himself, dressed and went downstairs in search of food.

He located the kitchen, a huge, ultramodern space adjoining the dining room, and looked into the walk-in freezer. To his delight, he discovered that its contents were still frozen. He located some bacon and then rummaged about in the refrigerator. Some of the food within had been spoiled, but he decided that the eggs were probably still edible. But how to cook them? He considered going to get their tiny camp stove, but it turned out that beside the electric range was a gas grill, apparently for indoor barbequing. He tried one of the burners and heard the hiss of gas. He found some matches and lit one of the grills and presently the smell of bacon and eggs filled the room. He located some coffee and started a pot of water going on another burner.

A short time later, he carried plates of breakfast and steaming cups of coffee upstairs and into the bedroom. Nikki was awake, but looked rather pale. She smiled as he came in.

"Wow, does that ever smell good!" she exclaimed, "Breakfast in bed, what a treat! And I am so hungry!"

They ate together, Nikki wolfed down her portion and nearly chugged her coffee. She held out her cup.

"Is there any more?" she asked.

He returned a minute later with two more steaming cups.

"God that was so good!" she said, downing the last of her coffee, "You're the best, David! But now, I really need to pee..."

She began to climb out of bed, then hesitated.

"David, do you have any idea where my panties are?"

He looked around and found on the floor next to the bedside table and handed them to her. Modestly, she squirmed into them beneath the covers, then got up and disappeared into the bathroom.

He heard the toilet flush, then the shower running. Nikki emerged some time later, clad in her bra and panties and drying her long hair with a towel. She slipped back into bed without covering up and sighed.

"I still feel really tired," she explained, "and kind of weak. I'm still trying to figure out what the hell happened to me. It was like I went crazy. Or like being on some really powerful drug... wait!" she snapped her fingers, then rolled over on her side, her back to him. She fingered the small of her back.

"Can you see anything here?" she asked, pointing. He looked closely, rubbing his index finger over her skin.

"There's a bump here," he announced, "Just a small one. And yeah, it's red. It looks almost like a tiny puncture wound."

"That fucking bastard!" she said heatedly, rolling onto her back again,

"This fucking guy in the park put his arms around me and when he did I felt a sharp poke in the back, just there. I'll bet he injected me with something. Whatever it was, it was a lot worse then LSD," she went on, "it had to be something really nasty, like Ditran, or some weird mixture of things... Fucking asshole!" she ended, pounding the mattress angrily with her fists. She pulled the blankets up around her chin again and fell into silence.

He left her to sleep some more and decided to explore the rest of the house and grounds. He explored the outbuildings, including one that appeared to be a large guesthouse or servant's quarters. He forced the door and entered. The rooms were in considerable disarray, with drawers pulled out, books and magazines strewn across the carpet, food on the floor in the kitchen. Looting? He wondered. No, not enough damage and besides, the door was still locked. Looks more like the occupant left in a hurry.

He moved into another of the bedrooms, then froze, his face suddenly going cold. In the center of the floor lay the body of a man in his early twenties. He was lying on his back, staring sightlessly straight up at the ceiling, his arms twisted awkwardly above his head. A small pool of congealed blood was on the carpet next to him. There were bullet holes in his head, chest, stomach, shoulder...

David felt his blood pounding wildly inside his head. The air suddenly seemed thick and unbreathable.

"Shit..." he muttered.

The body was clad in black jeans, black sweater and a black balaclava was pulled up onto the crown of his head. There was no sign of a weapon nearby. Was this a looter, David wondered, or something worse? Who was he?

He'd obviously been dead for several days. The body had swollen shockingly and the skin had a bluish pallor.

David sat for a while, trying to calm his racing heart and regain his composure. Then he went through the victim's pockets, searching for a clue. Nothing. Finally, he gripped the body by the feet and dragged it outside. It was completely stiff and dragging it was tiring work. David surveyed the immediate vicinity; one of the flowerbeds will do, he decided. He walked over to what appeared to be a garden shed and opened the door. Sure enough, it contained a variety of garden tools. He selected a spade.

Sometime later, he'd managed to dig a shallow grave in the flinty earth and slid the body into it. Then, still reflecting on what could possibly have happened, he piled dirt on the body and packed it down.

Returning to the guesthouse, he checked the rest of the rooms apprehensively, fearing more bodies. To his great relief, he found none. He then climbed up a steep flight of stairs into the attic and looked around. Though the space was crowded, there appeared to be little here of immediate value, most of it was sports equipment and old suitcases. Then he found a large box that contained several Coleman Lanterns, a camp stove, oil lamps, dozens of candles, a first aid kit, a flare gun and flares... Excellent! All the lanterns and the stove appeared to be full. He closed the lid of the box and dragged it downstairs and over to the main house, then continued his explorations.

Some hours later he returned to find Nikki awake and reading a magazine in bed. In the absence of power to run the air conditioning, he'd expected the bedroom to be sweltering in the blazing afternoon sun but, thanks no doubt to the shade of the surrounding trees, it was still a livable temperature.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting on the bed. He'd already decided to say nothing about the dead body.

"Okay, I think," she responded, "Still a little weak, but I'm feeling way better than this morning... and way, way better than last night! I think the food really helped."

"Feel like talking about what happened? I'd like to know, if you don't mind talking about it."

"Sure, that's okay," she said. She gave him a somewhat compressed version of the events of yesterday after they'd lost each other, but there were many gaps and blank spots; it seemed her memory had been strongly affected by the drug.

"I have no idea how I got out of the park," she concluded, "or how I wound up back at the truck, no memory of that at all, but thank God I did..."

David was horrified by Nikki's account.

"My God!" he exclaimed, "That sounds like a nightmare! I'm so glad that you're okay! I was so worried... Scared shitless, more like."

"I was scared shitless too," she agreed, "But you've been so great! I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come back to the truck. I'm so grateful."

"And you're not... injured anywhere?"

"I don't seem to be," she responded after a moment's thought, "At first I did kind of wonder if those people had... you know, used me... but I don't think so. I feel fine apart from the aftereffects of that damn drug..."

"Well, thank God for that," David said fervently, "You know, I'm thinking we ought to stay here at a few more days. I'd like to make sure you're completely recovered before we make any more trips."

"I'd like that too," said Nikki, "I really want to get back home and up to Palomar, but I do want to rest and get healthy and make sure I'm ready to travel. And hell, this ain't such a bad place to stay!" she concluded, putting her hands behind her head and leaning back against the heaped pillows, "I could get used to this!"

 

--

 

David spent another couple of hours exploring, then went upstairs to find Nikki climbing out of bed.

"Hey!" she said brightly, "I wanna get up and do something. I'm ready."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Definitely! Say," she continued, looking around, "I wonder if anyone who lived here was my size..."

While Nikki browsed through the bedroom closets, David went downstairs. A short time later she did the same, wearing a pair of denim cutoffs, scoop-necked t-shirt and sandals. She found him out behind the house, gazing down at LA in the hazy distance.

They stood together in silence for a while, then Nikki said, "I wonder what happened to the people who lived here. Do you suppose they're down there somewhere?" She swept her hand across the panorama.

"Maybe they're down there," said David, pointing in the direction of Echo Park, invisible in the hazy distance.

"Nah," she replied, smiling sardonically, "That's just for the peons. I bet the movie stars and tycoons have their own private bash going on somewhere else."

"You're probably right," David agreed, "But I wonder what is going on down there... Is the party still going on? Has it moved somewhere else? Perhaps something bad happened, like in San Diego... or will happen."

"I don't think I need to find out, thank you very much," she laughed nervously, "I've had enough of that place... But what happened in San Diego, do you think? A 'massive explosion' it said on the news... A bomb, maybe?"

"Sure is possible," David agreed, "You know, sometimes a suicidal person will decide to go out with a bang and try to take as many people with him as possible. Maybe it was some sort of cult that did it, maybe even terrorists. I guess that's another thing we'll never find out.

"Hey, guess what I found," he went on, changing the subject, "A box full of candles, lanterns and emergency gear. I'm thinking that with that stuff, plus all the food in the freezer, we'd be okay to stay here for at least a couple of days."

"That's great news!" she responded, grinning at him, "Wonderful news!"

"And how about this?" he continued, "Tonight I'm gonna raid the freezer—there's tons of great stuff in there—and I'm going to cook us a really fabulous, gourmet meal!"

Her grin broadened. "Wow!" she exclaimed, "That's even better news! What can I do to help?"

"Absolutely nothing!" replied David, holding up a warning hand, "This is my show. I think of myself as a bit of a master chef..." he concluded, assuming a comically haughty pose.

David busied himself in the kitchen, planning out the meal and the logistics of how to cook it, while Nikki watched and kept him company. He decided that he could do most everything on the barbeque grill, but set up the camp stove, just in case. He rooted around in the freezer, pulling out armfuls of seafood, shrimp, lobster, crab, scallops, oysters.

"Mmmm!" she commented, "Looks good so far!"

David grinned. He ran down a flight of steps and found the wine cellar, helping himself to several bottles, not knowing whether they were cheap corner-store plonk, or rare thousand-dollar-a-bottle vintages.

When he emerged, Nikki excused herself. "I think I'd like to go change," she said, smiling at him, "See you soon!" and disappeared.

He opened a bottle of wine and poured a generous dollop into the large wok he'd located and followed it, after smelling it to make sure it hadn't soured, some cream. I think a little seafood in white wine sauce would go down pretty well right about how, he thought. He took a couple of hefty pulls on the bottle himself. "Not bad..." he said, smacking his lips, "Not bad at all...

"Vegetables," he mused. Snow peas went in, then peppers, artichoke hearts, bamboo shoots, onion, garlic, spices... The kitchen began to smell heavenly. He drank more wine, dumped in the seafood and got some pasta ready to go. He sliced a couple of ripe mangos and made a mango salad. More wine went into the concoction, then down his throat. He located a frozen cheesecake and set it out to thaw. He rummaged some more.

"Caviar!" he exclaimed, upon discovering a can, "Now we're talkin'!"

While the sauce simmered on the stove, he moved into the dining room and placed dozens of candles around, using every horizontal surface he could find. The dining table was long enough to play shuffleboard on, so he set two places together at one end, angled so that they could both have a panoramic view of the sunset through the adjacent windows and arranged a pair of long slender dinner candles in silver holders between them.

The seafood sauce was ready; the sun was sliding down toward the horizon when he started the pasta. Where was Nikki? She's been up there for an hour...

"Nikki!" he called up the stairs.

"Coming!"

She emerged onto the landing at the top of the stairs and into the soft illumination of the evening filtering through the skylights. David caught his breath, his eyes goggling. She was wearing a short, black spaghetti strap dress that shimmered and sparkled as she moved. She'd put her hair up and delicate strands of rhinestones (or could they be real diamonds?) glittered at her ears and around her throat. A single, slim strand graced her wrist. She wore dark stockings on her slim legs and strappy black high-heels.

As she descended, David knew he was staring, but couldn't help it. She stopped in front of him, grinning shyly. She was beautifully made up, and she'd even done her nails.

"What do you think?" she asked quietly and spun slowly around.

"My God, Nikki!" he stammered, "My God, I... I... Nikki, you took my breath away," he concluded simply, "Literally. You look absolutely beautiful! Stunning!"

"Thanks," she said, blushing a little in the soft light, "So, what are you making? It smells wonderful!"

"I feel kind of like a bum, now," he said, gazing down at his grimy shorts and t-shirt and thinking uneasily that some of the stains might be dried blood from the black-clad corpse.

"Relax, David," she said, patting his chest, "It's okay! I got dressed up because I wanted to, not because I thought we should."

But David was already running up the stairs. "Be right back!" he called over his shoulder.

He raced down the upper hall and rummaged frantically through several bedrooms before he found something in his size. He stripped and put on a pair of chinos that almost fit, then a pale yellow golf shirt and sneakers. He hastily brushed his hair and splashed water on his face, then ran back downstairs.

"David!" she exclaimed, when he appeared, "Everything looks so beautiful, the candles, the sunset, the wine... And you look pretty good yourself!" she finished, grinning.

She sat while David served the food and poured them each some wine. He was finding it difficult to take his eyes off her. Her transformation from intrepid, ready-for-anything adventure girl to this stunningly beautiful, elegant young woman was mind-boggling.

The sun was just kissing the horizon. They watched it in silence for a few minutes, then David said, "Nikki, I've been wondering about some things, if you don't mind telling me. Like, when did you first realize you were... I don't know the word... like this?" He gestured at her attire.

"Transgendered? Ever since I can remember, I guess," she replied, "One of my earliest memories is of trying on one of my sister's dresses. I loved it and that feeling has just never left me. I did it again and again. My mom caught me a couple of times, but I guess she just thought I was going through a phase or something. My older sister knew all about it and she sometimes helped me to get dressed up, or would lend me some of her clothes that she didn't wear any more. When she moved away to get married, I knew I had to take matters into my own hands and started to buy myself a wardrobe. It really sucked. I wasted so much money on stuff that wouldn't fit, or stuff that looked terrible, or was so cheap that it fell apart after a few wearings. It took me a long time to get good at it. I used to use the old 'It's for my girlfriend' ploy, but I probably didn't fool anyone.

"It was hard to find privacy, though. You know I come from a pretty big family. My little sister, who was only about twelve at the time, caught me once and threatened to tell Mom and Dad. Man, she blackmailed me something fierce!" she laughed. "Now that she's grown up, she's pretty accepting."

She paused, her face darkening, "I wish I could see her again. She's in Spain right now..."

"Where's the rest of your family?" David asked.

"Well, as you know, Mom and Dad have passed away. My brother Carlos is in Belize, somewhere in the jungle. I wonder if he even knows about all this... Manu is in Washington, something to do with the media. Sara's traveling around Europe, somewhere..."

"What I really want to know," David said, grinning, "is how you got to be so good at it!"

"Good at it? Looking like a woman you mean? Well, I was blessed with the right body and face, for one thing. I've always been kind of petite and I guess my face has always looked kind of pretty. Until I was about sixteen, people mistook me for a girl all the time. It used to cause me this weird mixture of enjoyment and embarrassment. It sometimes caused my siblings some embarrassment, too. But anyway, looking like a girl has always been really easy for me. I've been very lucky that way."

She paused to take a few mouthfuls of food. "You know, there's something I'm kind of ashamed of admit, but you might as well know... "

"Go ahead," David prompted.

"Well... The thing is, I lied to you about something, you and everybody else too. Remember when I told you I'd taken a year and backpacked around Nepal and all that stuff?"

David nodded.

"Well actually, I've never been anywhere near Southeast Asia. I spent the whole time in Malibu, living as a woman. I dressed as often as I could, even made some friends as a woman, got a part-time job, everything. I guess you could say that's where I 'honed' my technique. I spent, like, 99 percent of the time as a woman. At the end of the year, I planned to come out publicly, you know, to everybody... But, somehow that never happened. I guess after I returned to the 'real world' I kind of chickened out."

"Ahh!" said David, chuckling "Well, that explains a couple of things. The fact that after a year overseas you didn't have a single snapshot to show for it, for one thing!"

He paused.

"So anyway, what then?" he continued, "I mean, supposing you had come out as... transgendered? That's the word? Supposing you had come out and if things were still... you know, normal. What would have been in your future? Would you have wanted to change your sex?"

"I don't know," said Nikki, reflectively, "I have thought about it, a lot... I would definitely want to live as a woman, fulltime. No question about it. That's always been a kind of goal of mine. And I guess that's the way I've always seen myself, actually. I've never felt really comfortable as a man. I mean, yeah, I went out with lots of girls and I guess I was pretty promiscuous in college and I partied a lot and I guess I had a bit of a reputation... but, I think in some ways, that whole party-animal shit-disturber attitude of mine was partly a means of covering up my true feelings, and the pain I was going through, you know?

"I've considered going on hormones, maybe getting breast implants. As for the surgery, I don't know, David. It's a drastic step. It was very tempting, but... I just never made a final decision."

She scooped up the last of her pasta and sauce. "Oh, that was an amazing dinner!" she sighed contentedly.

"You know," said David after a short silence, "about something you said yesterday... You said you wished you'd 'come out' to me sooner... Now, I know it's no use crying over spilled tequila and all that... but, now that I think about it, I wish you'd come out to me earlier, too. It would have meant a lot to me to be there for you, to support you and help you... and be a friend to Nikki as well... you know?"

"I do know," she responded with a warm smile, "and I think you're the sweetest, most caring person I know, and I want you to know how much I appreciate it and how grateful I am to have you with me now..."

She reached out and touched the back of his hand in an affectionate gesture and he had the sudden impulse to take her hand in his. If he'd been with a 'real' girl, he wouldn't have hesitated... But what does that mean, anyway? He thought, just what is a 'real' woman or a 'real' man? Where is gender anyway? Is it between the legs? Or is it in the heart, the soul? Nikki is a woman, in almost every way, every way that matters, anyway... Haven't you already almost forgotten that there's a 'Nick' in there? She's a natural. She's... she's perfect...

But Nikki had drawn her hand back and started on her cheesecake.

"Ooh, this is delicious!" she enthused, "You gotta try it!"

David poured the last of the wine and waved the empty bottle. "Should I open another?" he asked.

"Oh!" Nikki giggled, "I don't know... I'm already starting to feel a little drunk!"

He popped the cork on another bottle. "What do you want to do after dinner?" he asked.

"How about we go for a short walk along the edge of the hill?" she asked, "We could get a way better view if we were just a bit more to the south. And there's a path; I saw it earlier."

"Okay, sounds good."

The sky was dark when they emerged onto the back lawn, only a thin line of deep purple rested atop the edge of the horizon to the west. They skirted the back yard swimming pool and walked through a grove of tropical plants, then out through a gap in the low stone wall that circled the property, heading toward the drop-off.

"Here it is," said Nikki, pointing.

They emerged onto a broad flagstone path that led along the crest of the hill. A gentle breeze blew from the east. There was just enough light to see by. It was eerily quiet; the click of Nikki's heels echoed in the stillness.

They walked in silence for a while, past the walled back yards of several houses, then emerged onto a wide grassy area that ran right over the edge and down the hill. Just beyond that, erosion had taken some of the hillside away and a tall concrete reinforcing pad buttressed the end of the path on which they stood. A steel railing ran along the top.

They leaned against the railing for a while, staring out at the land below. The city was a weird mosaic. In some areas, the lights were still on. Other districts were broad, inky black pools: dark, formless voids that separated the lighted areas. They could see Echo Park, but it was dimly lit and they could make out little. In the dark sections of the city, many flickering orange lights appeared and disappeared. Some moved around slowly. Torches perhaps, thought David.

In one of the blacked out areas toward Marina Del Ray, a large, bright orange radiance flickered. It could only be a large bonfire, or perhaps even a building in flames. Dodger Stadium was in darkness, but around and perhaps in it, a multitude of fires, large and small, flickered and moved through the night. Away to the south, at the very limits of visibility, a brilliant white light flashed and sputtered, like some giant arc welder.

David felt Nikki groping for his hand. He took hers and held it.

"So this is what it looks like," she whispered.

"What?"

"The end of the world."

She was silent for a while, then David heard a quiet sob break from her. He squeezed her hand and she turned to him, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Oh David," she said, her voice breaking, "Why is this happening?"

She began to weep and moved against him, her arms around his waist. She sobbed into his shoulder and David felt wetness there. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, stroking her hair.

"Goddamn it David," she said through her sobs, "All those people, all those billions of people, all the children that'll never have a chance! Children that'll never know what it's like to grow up, to become a whole person, to do things with their lives, to love and be loved, to taste their first kiss... watch a sunset... Were we really that bad?" she sobbed, "Were we? I think most of us were good people, weren't we? Do we really deserve this? Fuck! It's so unfair! There's so much I wanted to do..."

David held her tight, but could think of nothing to say. While she spoke, an eerie bluish radiance had gradually brightened around them. As he held her, he could see beyond her shoulder that they were casting a shadow. That's quite the full moon, he thought.

Gradually, Nikki quieted and then raised her head and looked at him. Their eyes met and locked. In the pale light, her face had a ghostly monochromatic tinge, her eyes caught the light and sparkled; her full lips glinted softly in the glow. Her eyes gazed deeply into his. He felt mesmerized, as if drawn toward some vortex where the air was thin. He felt her breathing grew heavier and sensed his own responding in kind. His heart pounded. Her arms tightened around him, her lips parted, she raised her chin slightly; he leaned toward her...

Then suddenly, she looked past him and gasped. A hand flew to her mouth.

"Oh my God!" she whispered.

David turned to look. The constellation Orion had risen, low over the rim of hills to the east and with it, Alpha Orionis. But here was not the familiar dim, reddish glow with which the star had shone for millennia. This Alpha Orionis blazed with a cold, intense, blue-white radiance, razor sharp and almost impossible to look at directly, casting its baleful glare down upon a doomed planet.

The supernova had begun.

 

 

They drove fast, David at the wheel. The roads and highways were completely deserted. The supernova was out of sight to the west, but the sun was not yet up. Nikki sat quietly beside him, looking frightened. They barely spoke, each lost in thought. Then Nikki looked over at him and said, trembling, "Damn it, David, I'm really scared. I don't want to die!" He reached across and took her hand.

La Pala appeared completely empty. Or perhaps everyone was indoors. As they drove rapidly through town, David glanced over at Nikki and was somewhat surprised to see that the look of worry had left her face; instead, she seemed thoughtful, introspective.

"What are you thinking?" asked David, curious.

"I think I'll leave that a secret, for now," she said.

 

 

They drove up the road to Palomar and presently its familiar white buildings and slanting telescope enclosures came into view. They parked and ran to the doors. David used a tire iron from the truck to force them open, since neither had a key and, oddly, the place still seemed deserted.

They ran up the steel staircase to one of the computer labs. Some of the power was still on and David was sure he heard the hum of emergency generators. He swung a chair over to one of the consoles and began typing commands. It was still connected. He located the link for NovaNet and signed in, using his local Palomar ID and password. It worked. He began scrolling through the pages and pages of postings, links to archived data, database query forms, PDF documents... there was years of reading here, but he didn't have years.

"Look at this!" he said pointing to the screen, "It looks like they did that mineshaft thing after all! Nikki! ... Nikki?"

She wasn't there. He rushed out onto the landing. He could hear her footsteps faintly below him and called, "Nikki!"

"Back soon!" he heard her say faintly. Then he heard a door swing open and shut.

He shrugged and returned to the console.

He scrolled through the document, reading quietly to himself, "Wow! Ten million people... Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Germany... Russia... two... no three locations in the U.S... ... Wow..."

He scrolled to the bottom of the list of incoming posts and watched as they arrived in a steady stream. The pace picked up as new postings about the supernova began arriving from the other side of the world.

As he watched, there was a pause of about twenty seconds, then a flurry of posts came all at the same time, pages of them. Something about the titles caught David's eye and he opened one at random. He scanned the first paragraph, then started over, reading each word carefully, his eyes bugging from his head. He half stood up, then sat down again.

"Holy shit..." he muttered, then, "Holy shit! Holy shit!!!!!!"

He hit the print button and then stood by the printer, snapping his fingers impatiently as it slowly disgorged the printout.

"Nikki!" he hollered, "Nikki!"

"Hi," came her voice and as David looked up, she slinked slowly into the room. Then she leaned back provocatively against the doorframe and smiled at him. She was dressed in a lacy white bra and matching panties; sheer white stockings strained up to her garter belt and she was wearing white strappy stiletto heeled shoes. She'd applied fresh makeup, her lips a deep, seductive red, her eyes dark and sexy; she wore her large silver hoops in her ears and a handful of silver bangles clinked on her wrists. In one hand, she clutched the neck of a bottle of J&B Scotch. She took a swig.

"Got it from McFarlane's desk," she said, waving it, "Always knew he was a lush..."

David was stunned. Before he could say a word, she glided into the room and said, "So, whadya think, honey? You like?"

Despite having clearly taken a few shots from the bottle already, she spun gracefully on her heels, giving him the full 360-degree view.

David didn't know what to think. His blood had evidently departed from his brain, no doubt moving to greener pastures.

"It's the end of the world as we know it," she sang, "And I feel fine..."

She leaned toward him and kissed him firmly on the mouth. He felt her tongue brush his lips, sliding between them. Then she sank to her knees in front of him.

"David," she said decisively, smacking his thighs with her hands and pushing them apart, "David, I'm gonna do something I've never done before, but I really-really want to. And you, my friend," here she poked him in the stomach with each word, "You are the very guy I want to do it with. So hold on to your hat!"

So saying, she undid his belt and began fumbling with his fly. David's mind reeled; he felt like a badly made martini: both shaken and stirred...

Then he glimpsed the printout in his hand and snapped back to the reality of moment.

"Hold that thought, Nikki!" he said, "There's something you're going to want to hear..."

She paid no attention. By this time she'd taken him out of his pants and began to lick experimentally. The sensations were great and he felt his will begin to slip away... but, no! Wait!

"Nikki!" he said urgently, "This is important, more important that anything! See, it looks like the folks at SNO were studying the neutrino phase delay..."

Nikki snorted in contempt and continued her ministrations, her head moving rhythmically.

"No! Listen! Please!" he said, somehow reluctant to get her attention by more direct means, "This has been confirmed independently by Berkeley, Kamiokande and VGO. It looks like the original interferometry was way, way off... someone over at VLA is going to be pretty red faced... and he may not be the only one, come to that... Anyway!" he shook his head as if to clear it, "The thing is, the neutrino lag indicates that Alpha Orionis is way farther away than we thought, at least 650 light-years, not 300! Don't you get it? The radiation's going to be about a tenth of the what we thought, and the upper atmosphere can handle most of that..."

By now, his news had filtered into Nikki's brain. She'd stopped what she was doing and was looking up at him, shock in her eyes, her mouth still in its O. Her face was white; the two spots of blush on her cheeks seemed almost to float above her skin.

"You mean..." she said slowly.

"Yes!" David yelled waving his arms frantically, "We're saved! We're okay! We're not going to die!!! We're going to be fine! The world's going to be fine! ...NovaNet's recommending that folks stay indoors while the supernova's high in the sky, but, we're all going to live!!!

"Although," he finished, thoughtfully, "I bet it's going to be a very different world, from now on..."

Nikki still looked shocked; she couldn't meet David's eye and her face flushed. But then, she gradually seemed to relax and she looked up at him. She smiled, tentatively at first, then broader; her smile became a grin, then she began to giggle. Her giggles became chuckles, her chuckles became laughter. She laughed harder and harder and then David caught it too. Soon, they were both in hysterics, shouting and hooting with a glorious, healing laughter that echoed down the empty halls and stairwells beyond the door.

David stood, tucked himself in and zipped up. Then he held out his hand to Nikki. She took it and stood up by his side. They laughed and laughed. He embraced her, picked her up and whirled her around and around, in a joyous celebration of life, rebirth, and second chances. As they spun, in between shouts of laughter, Nikki yelled, "Different world? Baby, you sure said a mouthful!"

 

Epilog

So, as David and Nikki danced their dance of celebration in the offices of Palomar Observatory, the news of humanity's salvation spread across the planet. Soon enough, others would be celebrating in their own way; in every corner of the globe, churches, synagogues, mosques and temples would be packed to the doors with those giving thanks. Others would choose to celebrate their deliverance in quieter or more private ways, perhaps surrounded by their loved ones, or perhaps in quiet, solitary contemplation. And perhaps the people in Echo Park, and the hundreds of other similar parks across the continent, would celebrate in their own way.

But, as David told Nikki, it was likely to be a very different world. The great Roman poet and orator Cicero once said, "In vino veritas," in wine there is truth. Or, to put it in the words of an old Flemish proverb, "What a man says drunk he has thought sober." Or to put it still another way, wine only loosens tongues; it does not change what is on them.

It might also be true to say "De mortuis veritas," from the dead there is truth. For who, when faced with their own mortality, would not forsake the artifice and deceit that our world demands and thus show his or her true face to the world? We all have our secrets, we all have our dreams, dark or bright and we all yearn to tell the world, to be free of their invisible shackles once and for all. For a secret unshared is a burden, and a secret shared is oft times a liberation.

Witness the emergence of Nikki, a beautiful, brightly colored butterfly, who but lately broke free from the drab chrysalis that was Nick. Her wings spread, the limitless sky opened before her, the air merely waited for the first flutter of her wings to carry her off to strange, undreamed-of lands, if only for the briefest of butterfly lives.

But if the butterfly's doom is somehow then commuted, what then? It is a knife that cuts both ways. The open sky becomes truly without limit, the butterfly is granted a reprieve from its oh-too-fleeting life. But with the freedom comes a renewed demand for courage, for the sky is the Unknown, and the Unknown can be fraught with perils.

So what of Nikki? Would she now forsake the endless sky and shed her wings only to crawl back into the bland, monochromatic comfort and safety of her former shell? All butterflies are safe in their cocoons, but that is not what butterflies do.

David too, felt keenly the exaltation and freedom of his reprieve. He had determined to go forward into this brave new world with a fresh resolve, to forsake his comfortable, albeit sterile, existence and embrace the exciting but frighteningly uncertain possibilities that now opened before him. Thus, even as he laughed and danced, had already begun to formulate a bold new plan to make the changes he knew must take place, in order to remake his life in the image he foresaw.

For this was the lesson of the new, bright blue-white star: that a dream delayed is a dream denied and—in the words of a tired, but still a propos cliché—that we should always live each day as if we truly believed it to be our last, for one day we're certain to be right.

 

David and Nikki swirled and danced and laughed, until at last, exhausted, they quieted and looked at each other, still grinning. Then Nikki looked down at herself and blushed.

"Wait here," David said and ran out into the hallway. He returned a few moments later, bearing a man's overcoat.

"Here." he said, holding it for her.

She slipped into it and buttoned it up. Then David took her hand and led her toward the stairwell. He was still looking affectionately at her, his eyes dancing.

"What are you thinking?" Nikki asked.

"I think I'll leave that a secret for now," he said mischievously.

He led her out to the truck and opened the passenger door for her. She climbed in, still looking at him with undisguised curiosity.

He walked around and got in the driver's side, then started the truck and they headed down the road toward town.

Periodically, he looked toward her, his eyes twinkling. She would look back, giving him a 'just what are you up to?' stare.

"Come on!" she said eventually, poking him in the arm, "Tell me!"

"We've been given a second chance, Nikki. The whole world has. We've been given another chance to do things differently, to do things better. I think we should do just that."

And with that, he would say no more.

They pulled into the driveway of Nikki's apartment and parked. David walked around and opened Nikki's door while she rummaged in the glove box for her keys. Then went inside and Nikki opened her front door. Although stuffy, the place was intact. No looters or squatters had been inside. To obtain a little fresh air, Nikki opened a few windows while

David pulled back one of the French doors that led onto Nikki's small, private patio.

Then Nikki planted herself in front of him and said, "Alright mister! Come on, what's up? You've got to tell me!"

For an answer, he reached up, undid the buttons of her coat and gently slid it from her shoulders. It fell softly to the floor. He looked her up and down in breathless admiration, as she stood in front of him, still clad in her provocative lingerie, high heels, jewelry, makeup... Then, as Nikki gazed in wonderment into his eyes, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tenderly to him. He kissed her and she responded by putting her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately in return.

"Oh David..." she whispered. They kissed again and again.

She tightened her embrace and they kissed yet again with ardor, tongues entwining. At last, they broke apart, still gazing deeply into each other's eyes, their hands clasped.

"Do you remember when I said that this was our second chance?" David said softly, "A chance to do things differently, to do things right?"

She nodded.

"Well, sweetheart," he said, smiling, "This is one of those things..."

And so saying, he took her by the hand, and together they walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind them.

The End

 

A couple of notes:

Technical stuff: Apart from deliberately reducing the distance from Earth to Alpha Orionis to 300 light-years in order to make the plot "work" (it’s actually about 650 LY, as mentioned near the end of the story), the rest of the scientific information is reasonably accurate. Alpha Orionis is an M-type supergiant star and a prime supernova candidate. And it really is near the end of its life. Should it go supernova (which is possible, someday!) it would be by far the most spectacular celestial event ever seen from Earth. It would be clearly visible during broad daylight, and many times brighter than the full moon at night. On the downside, it would probably also elevate background radiation levels so much that long-term cancer risk would be measurably increased. The 1987 supernova, "Supernova Sheldon," proved once and for all that neutrinos have mass, not much, but some; therefore they travel through space at slightly less than the speed of light. This means that it is possible to measure the time difference between the arrival of the neutrino burst from a supernova and its first visible light, and accurately calculate the distance, based on that difference.

The characters: Professors Klassen and Jellico—and of course David and Nikki—are fictional characters, but the scientists listed as attending at the conference in Part One are real people. Steven Hawking, Roger Penrose, John Wheeler, etc. are all real, and highly respected, cosmologists. Dr. Steven Weinberg, the only cosmologist with a "speaking" part, is a professor of Theoretical Research at the University of Texas, a Nobel laureate and author of many fundamental books and papers, including a great book on the early universe called The First Three Minutes. I have a lot of respect for Dr. Weinberg, and consider him to be one of the true giants of modern science. I hope I have cast him in a complimentary light in my story, acting as "the voice of reason" at the conference of scientists; however, should he somehow get wind of this little story, and should he be disinclined to have his name associated with a trashy little work of transgender fiction, I would be happy to replace his name with a fictional one.

  

  

  

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